Megalamphodus haraldschultzi, the crystal red tetra, is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the familyAcestrorhamphidae, the American characins. This species is found in South America, where it is endemic to Brazil. It occasionally appears in the aquarium trade.
Megalamphodus haraldschultzi is classified in the genus Megalamphodus, which is Greek and means "with spacious ways", a name coined by Carl H. Eigenmann which he gave no explanation for. It may be an allusion to the “very large” fontanels, the frontal bones being described as “entirely separate”', that is with a space between them and the parietal bones. The specific name, honours the collector of the holotype, the Brazilian ethnologist and fish collector Harald Schultz.[5]
Description
Megalamphodus haraldschultzi has a maximum total length of {[cvt|2.1|cm}}.[6] The colour of the body varies from pinkish-red to reddish brown with a distinct humeral spot to the rear of the opercle. The dorsal fin has a dark marking which has a white blotch above it and a yellow line below it, while the anal and pelvic fins have white margins.[7]
Distribution and habitat
Megalamphodus haraldschultzi is ednemic to Brazil where it is know only from teh drainage basin of the Araguaia River in the states of Goiás, Mato Grosso, Pará and Tocantins.[1] This species is thought to inhabit minor tributaries, backwaters and oxbow lakes rather than main river channels where the water is soft and weakly acidic with a layer of fallen leaves and branches cloaking the river bed.[8]
Utilisation
Megalamphodus haraldschultzi infrequently appears in the aquarium trade.[9]
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